Sierra Leone’s Court of Appeal has issued an arrest warrant for presidential candidate, and opposition leader, Samuel Kamara.
Kamara, who was runner-up in this year’s election, is wanted on suspected corruption charges related to the sale of government shares in a mining company, Sierra Rutile Limited, during his tenure as finance minister in 2012.
The court’s statement on Tuesday mandated Kamara’s arrest and handover to the anti-corruption commission for questioning regarding the alleged deal.
Kamara had previously been indicted in 2021 for alleged corruption during his term as foreign minister.
Despite ongoing denial of wrongdoing, the Court of Appeal rejected his legal team’s appeal, citing a lack of evidence and asserting that the former government was unaware of the sale.
The court instructed Kamara to repay the current government approximately 727,000 U.S. dollars within two weeks or present evidence to the contrary. Kamara’s legal team, led by Ady Macauley, criticized the judgment as “perverse” and announced their intention to take the case to the Supreme Court.
President Julius Maada Bio initiated a corruption inquiry commission after his 2018 election, aiming to investigate allegations of corruption under the previous administration, which was led by the APC.
In 2021, Kamara faced charges related to the misappropriation of 2.56 million U.S. dollars intended for the reconstruction of Sierra Leone’s chancery building in New York.
(Story compiled with assistance from Reuters)
